Universal control for clutch operation and gear selection for automotive vehicles



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E. R. HODGMAN 2,246,357

L FOR CLUTCH .OPERATION AND GEAR SELECTION FQR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES Filed June l2, 1939. 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNvENTOR TToRNBYs June 17, 1941.

UNIVERSAL CONTRO .MMM 17, 1941.. E. R. HODGMAN 2,4

UNIVERSAL CONTROL FOR CLUTCH OPERATION AND GEAR EHICLES SELECTION FOR AUTOMOTIVE V v Filed June 12, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. gai/[JVC www1,

` Zal y ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 17, 1941 UNITED UNIVERSAL CONTROL FOR CLUTCH OPERA- TION AND GEAR SELECTION FOR AUTO- MOTIVE VEHICLES Edward It. Hodgman, Chicago, Ill.

Application June `12, 1939, Serial No. 278,647

Claims. (Cl. 15m- 3.5)

The present invention relates to a novel actuating device associated with the usual clutch pedal for selective engagement and shifting of the gears with which an automotive vehicle is equipped, such as for reverse, low, intermediate and high, or with any additional `gear combinaL tion. By means of the novel mechanism` disclosed, from the front or drivers compartment of the vehicle there is eliminatedthe usual transmission lever, or with cars of the more recent types the hand controlled lever, which may be placed on the steering wheel or dash. The invention greatly increases the available space in` such front compartment by eliminating the usualigear shift lever. y

One object of the invention is` to provide a single foot control for disengaging the usual clutch with which automotive vehicles are equipped, and also selectively engaging the various gears on such an automotive vehicle as well as intheir neutral position.

Another object is to provide means for permitting the selectionloi one gear at a time and positively disengaging connections with other gears. i i

Stili another object is to provide means for shifting gears without nrst` returning to neutral position. i

A still further object is to provide positive means actuated by the foot control mechanism for engaging reverse, low, intermediate and high gears without the necessity of the customary hand lever for shifting gears. i

In the drawings: i

Figure l is a perspective view with the floor board of a driving or transmission control of an automobile removed.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged view, part in side elevation and part in vertical cross section, of the clutch and gear control` mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a view in vertical cross section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view in section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a view in vertical cross section of the gear shifting mechanism taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation with part of the trans mission case broken away along the lines 6 6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is afraigmentary view similar to Fig. 4, with part of the operating mechanism shown in section.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 6 but in a different position. i

'Ia journalled in a bearing Tb. The shaft 1a, when rocked by the aforesaid depression of plunger 6, transmits a similar rocking action by way of a link 1 to an arm 1d, the latter arm being in turn fixed to the clutch throwout shaft journalledin a bearing member 'Ie whereby-to effect a disengagement ofthe clutch.

The plunger E is provided with a spiral -cornpression spring 8 which operates to' return'the plunger to its normal upward operative position' when the pressure on the pedal isreleased. Provision is made for swinging the pedal when depressed into a plurality of different positions in a small arc, one of which positions is shown in dotted lines, Fig. l. As the pedal I and arm 2 are swunginto any one of such positions, the gear shifting mechanism is rotated by the positive pivotal connection at 4 with the rotating gear shifting member 9 which extends downwardly throughthe center of the housing and carries a circular bevel gear I0. The bevel gear I0 is in mesh with and actua-tes a rotatable bevel gear I I positioned near the bottom of the housing, the gearII is slidably'keyed to a shaft I2 which initiates the gear shifting mechanism, and which shaft is longitudinally slidable fora purpose to be later more fully explained. The piV- oted arm 5 extends intermediate through a slotted portion of the gear shifting member El and it is rotated with the gear shifting member.l This pivoted arm `5 is shaped at its free end 5ia to coact with a series of internal notches I3 corresponding to reverse, low speed, neutral, second speed., and high speed, or any intermediate speeds if the transmission is soequipped. of pressureon the clutch pedal the compression spring 8 forces the plunger B upwardly to swing the pivoted arm 5- interlocking engagement Withone of said notches where it is held in position in the predetermined gear selection until disengaged by pressure upon the pedal.

The ion-gitudinaiiy Siidabie Shaft l2 extending into the housing 3 bears against a cam portion or face I4 of the gear shifting member 9. This' cam face is clearly shown in Fig. 7. As the gear shift member is rotated by the arcuate movement Upon release of the clutch pedal, the c-am portion I4 bears upon the end of the shaft I2 forcing i-t to move outwardly. A compression spring I5 is mounted at one end of the shaft to force and maintain the shaft into contact with the cam surface I4 at all times. The action of the cam I4 on the shaft acts to force the shaft I2, away from the axis of plunger 6 andthe compression spring I5 acts to pull the shaft I2 into contact with the cam surface of gear shifting member 9. Fixedly keyed to the shaft I2 is -a clutch member I6 having coacting engagement with either coacting clutch member I1 or clutch member I8V which are freely rotatably mounted on shaft I2. Shaft I2 may extend directly to the gear shifting mechanism or may be connected therewith by a plurality of rods and bell cranks or the like.

Fixedly attached Ito the clutch member I1 isapair of toggle arms I9 and I9a pivoted at 20. Arm I9a is pivotally attached at 2I to the lever 22". Lever 22 isv shiftable transversely to the axis of' shaft I2 and is providedv with'a slot 23 which permits it to slide transversely of' the shaft I2 within the opening ofl its slot. Carried on the lever 22 is a shifter fork 24'for cooperation' with one set of gears.

Fixedly mounted to the second clutch member I8i is a similar pair of toggle arms 25' and 252L pivoted at 26. 25 is attached to one end. of a second lever 21 at 28. Lever 21 likewise is provided with a slot similar to the slot 23 on lever 22- and carries a shifter f-ork 29' for cooperation with a secondset lof gears, as' shown in Fig 6.

Fi'xedly mounted to the shaft I2 are two conical'shaped bearings 30 and 3 I. These bearings 30 and 3| reciprocate with the movement of the shaft I2'and the Xed clutch I6 and coacting with conical openings 32 and 33 of the levers 22. and 21 respectively. Thus when cam 3U ts into' conical opening 32, lever 22'cannot be moved. Likewise when cam 3| fit-s into conical`opening33,

lever 21 cannot be moved. The movement of one cam into locking position operates to release the supplementary cam from its locking engagement with the conical opening adjacent it. In thev preferred embodiment shown in Fig; 4', I have extended the lever 22 to form a bracket 34. Lever 21 has a similar exten-sion bracket 35. As the pedal I is moved in its arcuate direction or path the shaft I2 is given a longitudinal movement through action of the cam I4 and springv I5 and is rotated by reason of the meshing engagement of bevel gears I0 and I I forcing the clutch IB, which is positively keyed on the shaft I2, into engagement with one of the clutch members I1 or I8 which in turn actuates the shifter forks.

In operation as shifter fork 24 is shifted by rea-son of `the reciprocation of lever 22, it bears at its lower end against a collar 36a. Collar 36a i-s attached to female jaw clutch 31 which cooperates with male jaw clutch 38 whereby fork 24 carries the female jaw clutch 31 into contact with male jaw clutch 38. Female jaw clutch 31 is attached to and operates with the main drive shaft 3-9, and thus when female jaw `clutch 31 and male clutch 38 are in contact with each other the main drive shaft 39 is driven at the same speed which the engine transmits to engine shaft 40. Under the foregoing conditions the vehicle i-s in high gear.

When fork' 24 is moved in an opposite directionjaw clutch 36 4is disengaged from female jawclutch 31. This` opposite movement of the fork 24and'l lever 22 will move female jaw clutch 31f`al'ong the splinedportion of shaft 39l as-shown in Fig. 6. Female jaw clutch 31 is provided with a gear 41. Upon continuation of the movement of fork 24 away from male jaw clutch 38, gear 41 is brought into engagement with gear 48 which places the vehicle in second gear or intermediate speed, Gear 49 mounted on the countershaft 46 has meshing engagement with a gear portion of male jaw clutch 38 and is rotated at all times and drives the countershaft 46. Gears 44, 45, 48 and 49 being Xedly mounted on countershaft 43 enables gears 44, 45 and 48 to transmit rotative movement to either gear 43 or gears 42 or 41, whenin contact therewith.

Fork 29 mounted on lever 21 at its lower end bears against a collar 4I which is attached to gear 42. Gear 42 is slidably mounted on the splined portion of shaft 39.

In operation, the gear 42 slides along the spline-d portion of the drive shaft 39 into engagement with gear 45, which produces low gear speed. ATo reverse the rotation of the shaft 39 and the direction of the Vehicle, gear 42 is brought into meshing engagement with gear 43 as shown in Fig. 8.

Under this arrangement it will be seen that reciprocation of the shaft I2 and partial rotation of this shaft 9 will positively engage, disengage and place in neutral position the coacting gears to place the vehicle in high, intermediate and low speeds and reverse.

It may be deemed desirable to provide an indicator 36 which may be mounted on the steering rod of the car, on the dash-board or any convenient place, to indicate the selected gear position of the gears at neutral, reverse, low, second or third speeds.

In oper-ation the pressure on the pedal I which releases the clutch at the same time serves to push arm 5 out of locking eng-agement with various notches provided for the respective positions, neutral, reverse, low, second and hig-h` speed. As thus released, the clutch pedal I may be partially rotated into one of several different positions. which' partial rotation brings into play by cam and gear action a rotating and reciprocating shaft upon which .are mounted clutch members for .selectively engaging shifter forks, which in turn bring the required gears into and out of meshing engagement therebetween. The gears are so mounted that any sideways shift of the clutch pedal I immediately causes the supplementary drive gears to engage or disengage from meshing engagement. Continued partial rotation ofthe clutch pedal brings such gears into full meshing relation, and they may be so locked in meshing engagement upon releasing the clutch pedal, which in turn permits arm 5 to ascend and engage in the notches provided in the housing 3, as is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 7.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. In an automobile equipped with the usual clutch mechanism. a foot pedal, means for disengaging the clutch when the pedal is depressed. means for selecting and engaging predetermined gears operable only when the pedal is partially rotated in depressed position, and means enacting with said second mentioned means for returning said previously selected gears to neutral position when the pedal is shifted to any different position.

2. In an automotive vehicle, a plurality of gears for propelling the vehicle at different speeds and in both directions, a shaft, clutch members directly mounted on said shaft, a manually actuated pedal adapted when in depressed position and partially rotated in an arcuate direction to both reciprocate and rotate said shaft, whereby said clutch members selectively engage and disengage said gears.

3. In a transmission for automobiles or other power propelled vehicles equipped with the usual clutch and drive gears, a single control comprising a pedal, an arm coacting with said pedal means intermediate the arm and clutch and inf cluding a plunger adapted to be depressed to release the clut-ch when the pedal is pushed downwardly, a rotatable gear shifting member provided with a cam surface, a gear mounted on said gear shifting member and adapted to be rotated by an arcuate movement of the pedal and arm, a longitudinally movable shaft adapted to bear against and be maintained in contact with the cam face of the gear shifting member to be reciprocated thereby, a gear in meshing engagement with said last mentioned gear and keyed to and adapted to rotate said shaft but fixed against longitudinal movement, a pair of clutch members free on said shaft, a fixed clutch member for locking engagement with said free clutch members, and means cooperating with said free clutch members to selectively engage different sets of driving gears.

4. In a transmission for automobiles or other power propelled vehicles equipped with the usual clutch and drive gears, a single control comprising a pedal, an arm coacting With said pedal means intermediate the arm and clutch and including a plunger adapted to be depressed to release the clutch when the pedal is pushed downwardly, a rotatable gear shifting member provided vvith a cam surface, a gear mounted on said gear shifting member and adapted to be rotated by an arcuate movement of the pedal and arm, a longitudinally movable shaft adapted to bear against and be maintainedV in contact with the cam face of the gear shifting member to be reciprocated thereby, a gear in meshing engagement with said last mentioned gear and keyed to and adapted to rotate said shaft but fixed against longitudinal movement, a pair of clutch members free on said shaft, a fixed clutch member for locking engagement With said free clutch members, and means cooperating with said free clutch members to selectively engage different sets of driving gears, comprising a plurality of recipron eating levers, a fork mounted on each of said levers, a drive shaft and countershafts, a pair of complemental clutch members cooperating with said drive shaft, a plurality of gears mounted on said drive shaft and oountershafts, and means actuated by said forks for engaging, disengaging and holding in neutral position the said gears and said complementary clutches in predetermined combination with each other.

5. In an automotive vehicle having a plurality of gears for propelling the vehicle in both directions and at different speeds in forward direction and a clutch for enga-ging and disengaging said gears, a single control member for controlling said clutch and selectively initiating meshing engagement and disengagement of said gears, a shaft actuated by said single control member, two clutch members freely mounted on said shaft, a third clutch member xedly mount-ed on said shaft for selective engagement with either of said freely mounted clutch members, a plurality of levers transversely shiftable with respect to the axis of said shaft, an elongated opening in each of said levers, means for locking any one of said levers in fixed position comprising a conical shaped bearing secured on said shaft and coacting with an opening in said lever, a plurality of shifter forks mounted on said transversely shiftable levers, toggle levers actuating said shifter forks and shiftable levers, said toggle levers being connected at one end to the said freely mounted clutch members and at the other end to said transversely shiftable levers.

EDWARD R. HODGMAN.

CERTIFICATE or CORRECTION. t Patent No.. 2,21%,557 June 17, 19u10,

EDWARD R. HODGMAN a It is hereby certified that `error appears in the printed specifi cation of the above numbered patellt requiring correction as follows: Page 5, second column, line l59 Claim LL, for the word "clutches" read --olutch members-M; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correc- `r tion therein that the same may conform to the record of the ease in the y Patent offieem Signed and sealed this 25rd day of September, A.. D.. 19M..

-Henry Vall Arsdaley (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patentm 

